Roll stand construction for belt conveyors



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ATTOR/V May 16, 1967 w. E. HERRMANN ROLL STAND CONSTRUCTION FOR BELT CONVEYORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 25, 1962 INVENTOR.

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May 16, 1967 w. E. HERRMANN ROLL STAND CONSTRUCTION FOR BELT CONVEYORS Original Filed July 25, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 RM 3 WM 1 a M m M w United States Patent 3,319,779 ROLL STAND CGNSTRUCTHUN FUR BELT CONVEYURS William E. Herrniann, Ypsilanti, Mich,

Jervis B. Webb Company, tion of Michigan Original application July 25, 1962, Ser. No. 212,351, now Patent No. 3,217,862, dated Nov. 16, 1965. Divided and this application Aug. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 483,369 Claims. (Cl. 198-192) This application is a division of my co-pending application Ser. No. 212,351, filed July 25, 1962, now Patent No. 3,217,862.

This invention relates to an improved construction for a belt conveyor roll stand, particularly a roll stand of the troughing type in which the rolls at each end of the stand are mounted with their axes in upwardly inclined relation to a center roll.

The overall object of the invention is to provide a roll stand, consisting of the combination of a support and a roll assembly, and means whereby the roll assembly can be mounted on the support or removed from the support without tools. This is a great advantage, considering the fact that with roll stands of conventional construction now in use, the expense of removing and replacing idler rolls can easily exceed the cost thereof.

A roll stand construced in accordance with the invention consists of a pair of flexible supporting members such as cables, a roll assembly including a sub-frame, means for detachably connecting the sub-frame to the supporting members consisting of a pair of downwardly facing notches on the sub-frame and spaced transversely thereof and longitudinally of each cable, and means on the sub-frame for engaging the cable intermediate the pair of notches and deforming the cable upwardly above the level of the bottom of the notches comprising a lever pivoted on the sub frame structure and having a portion manually movable into positions of engagement with the cable and of disengagement therefrom.

Other features and advantages will be brought out in the following description of the presently preferred representative embodiments of the invention disclosed in the accompanying drawings which consist of the following views.

FIGURE 1, a side elevation of a roll stand;

FIGURE 2, an enlarged end elevation taken ,as indicated by the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3, an enlarged fragmentary side elevation with portions thereof being shown in section;

FIGURE 4, a fragmentary side elevation of one end of a roll assembly equipped with a mounting bracket for securing the roll assembly to a supporting cable;

FIGURE 5, an end elevation taken as indicated by the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIGURE 6, a fragmentary sectional elevation taken as indicated by the line 66 of FIG. 4.

The construction shown in FIGS. 1-3 includes two main components, a supporting frame Ill and a roll assembly 12 which includes three idler rolls 13, 14 and mounted in conventional relation for a troughing type idler stand-the axis of each of the outboard rolls 13 and 15 being upwardly inclined relative to the axis of the generally horizontal center roll 14.

The roll assembly 12 includes a sub-frame on which the rolls 13, 14 and 15 are mounted and which consists simply in a pair of frame bars 26 and 27 extending longitudinally of the roll axes and interconnected in spaced downwardly converging relation by means of a plurality of identical roll mounting brackets 28 having terminal flanges 29 abutting and connected to the frame bars 26 and 27 by bolts 30.

assignor to Detroit, Mich, a corpora- As best shown in FIG. 3, each of the mounting brackets 28 is adapted to provide a common support for the adjacent ends of a pair of rolls, the mounting bracket having a pair of end-to-end sockets 31 and 32 formed therein in angular axial relation.

Each of the rolls 13, 14 and 15 is similar in construction, including an outer cylindrical shell 34, a pair of end members 35 each having an annular bearing receiving socket 36 terminating in an inwardly directed portion 37 which is engaged by the flared end 38 of a grease sleeve 40. A tubular axle 42 extends through the sleeve 40, clearance being provided between the outside diameter of the axle 42 and inside diameter of the sleeve 49 to form a lubricant reservoir. The roll is mounted on the axle 42 by a bearing assembly adjacent each end of the latter, each bearing assembly including a bearing whose inner race 44 is mounted on the axle and whose outer race 45 engages the cylindrical socket 36 in the roll end member 35, a suitable bearing seal 46, and a bearing adjusting collar 48 which is threaded on the axle 42.

The adjusting collar 48 slidably fits within one of the sockets 31 or 32 of a mounting bracket 28 to a limit defined by a shoulder 45! on the collar, and one of a pair of set screws 50 mounted in a boss 51 at the side of the bracket can be screwed into engagement with the collar 48 thus securing the roll to the mounting bracket and at the same time locking the collar in proper position on the axle 42.

At each end of the roll assembly where only one roll is supported by a mounting bracket 28, a grease fitting 54 is slipped within the mounting bracket socket 32 and heldin position by the other set screw 50. Here the angular axial relation of the mounting bracket socket 32 to mounting bracket socket 31 results in placing the grease fitting in a convenient attitude for ready access thereto. Grease supplied to the roll assembly through the fittings 54 is forced through the center 56 (FIG. 2) of the roll axle, through a hole 58 formed therein inboard of each bearing assembly, into the grease reservoir between the axle and grease tube 40 and to the bearing assemblies. The entire roll assembly can thus be lubricated from either or both of the ends thereof.

The structure formed by the combination of rolls, mounting brackets and frame bars 26 and 27 is a unitary assembly, which as shown in FIGS. 4-6, is suspended between a pair of supporting members each consisting of a flexible cable 74. An adapter mounting bracket is secured to each end of the roll assembly frame bars. This bracket 75 is generally U-shaped in end elevation as shown in FIG. 5, having angularly related upstanding portions '76 and 77 conforming to the angle of convergence between the frame bars 26 and 27, and a transverse base portion 78. A pair of slots 79 and 80 (FIG. 6) are formed in the sides of the base portion 78 adjacent each of the upstanding portions 76 and 7'7, these slots each being adapted to receive the tang portion 82 of one of the frame bars, which extends between the end of the frame bar and the notch 64. The bracket 75 is further secured between the frame bars 26 and 27 by bolts 34 which also engage the roll mounting bracket 23 Means are also provided in this construction for detachably connecting the roll assembly frame to the supporting members or cables 74. This means includes a slot cut through the side and base portions of the bracket to provide a pair of notches 86 for engaging the cable 74. A manually movable lever element 88 is pivotally connected at 89 to the base portion 78 of the bracket 75, this element including a handle portion 90 and a cable engaging tongue 1 which can be positioned in engagement with the cable 74 to deform it upwardly intermediate 3 the notches 86 in the bracket side portions 76 and 77.

With this construction, no tools are required to mount a roll assembly on the supporting members or to remove a roll assembly therefrom. The labor and hence the cost of erecting and maintaining the roll stands of the invention is greatly reduced. If a roll assembly becomes defective, it can readily be removed and replaced by another assembly in proper working order.

While preferred embodiments have been described above in detail, it will be understood that numerous modifications might be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A belt conveyor roll stand comprising a pair of flexible supporting members, a roll assembly including a sub-frame including a pair of flat sheet metal frame to the supporting members including a pair of downwardly facing notches on the sub-frame adjacent each end thereof, the notches of each pair being spaced transversely of the sub-frame for engagement with one of the supporting members at longitudinally spaced locations thereon, and means on the sub-frame for engaging each supporting member intermediate the notches of a pair and deforming the supporting member upwardly comprising a lever pivotally connected to the sub-frame structure and having a portion movable into position of engagement with and disengagement from the supportin g member.

2. A belt conveyor roll stand comprising a pair of flexible supporting members, a roll assembly having a hub-frame including a pair of flat sheet metal frame bars, means rigidly interconnecting said frame bars in spaced downwardly converging relation, means for detachably connecting the sub-frame to the supporting members including a pair of downwardly facing notches on the sub-frame adjacent each end thereof, the notches of each pair being spaced transversely of the sub-frame for engagement with one of the supporting members at longitudinally spaced locations thereon, and means on the sub-frame for engaging each supporting member intermediate the notches of a pair and deforming the supporting member upwardly.

3. A belt conveyor roll stand as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means for detachably connecting the subframe to the supporting members comprises a pair of brackets, means for securing one of said brackets to the frame bars adjacent each of the ends thereof, each bracket including one of said pair of downwardly facing notches and a portion extending transversely between the pair of frame bars.

4. A belt conveyor roll stand as claimed in claim 3 wherein the said means on the sub-frame for engaging each supporting member comprises a movable element mounted on each of said brackets on the said transverse portion thereof.

5. A belt conveyor roll stand as claimed in claim 3 wherein the means for securing each bracket to the frame bars includes a downwardly facing notch formed inwardly of each frame bar end to define a tang portion on each frame bar between such notch and such end, a slot in said bracket engageable by said tank portion, and a fastening element between each frame bar and said bracket.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,776,044 1/1957 Lo Presti 198-192 2,903,770 9/1959 Hagenbook l98192 3,055,487 9/1962 Roley 198l92 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTHHCATE OF CORRECTHJN Patent No. 3,319,779 May 16, 1967 William E. Hermann It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as correct d below.

Column 3, line 16, strike out "including a pair of flat sheet metal frame" and insert instead means for detach ably connecting the sub-frame column 4, line 25, for "tank" read tang Signed and sealed this 2nd day of January 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARDJIBRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

1. A BELT CONVEYOR ROLL STAND COMPRISING A PAIR OF FLEXIBLE SUPPORTING MEMBERS, A ROLL ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A SUB-FRAME INCLUDING A PAIR OF FLAT SHEET METAL FRAME TO THE SUPPORTNG MEMBERS INCLUDING A PAIR OF DOWNWARDLY FACING NOTCHES ON THE SUB-FRAME ADJACENT EACH END THEREOF, THE NOTCHES OF EACH PAIR BEING SPACED TRANSVERSELY OF THE SUB-FRAME FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE OF THE SUPPORTING MEMBERS AT LONGITUDINALLY SPACED LOCATIONS THEREON, AND MEANS ON THE SUB-FRAME FOR ENGAGING EACH SUPPORTING MEMBER INTERMEDIATE THE NOTCHES OF A PAIR AND DEFORMING THE SUPPORTING MEMBER UPWARDLY COMPRISING A LEVER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE SUB-FRAME STRUCTURE AND HAVING A PORTION MOVABLE INTO POSITION OF ENGAGEMENT WITH AND DISENGAGEMENT FROM THE SUPPORTING MEMBER. 